On April 6, 2008, after a scintillating 151-147 double-overtime win by the Seattle SuperSonics — only the 18th victory for the Sonics in a lost season filled with turmoil over the team’s future — a Sonics’ rookie with spaghetti arms and spindly legs sat quietly in the team’s locker room.

By that time of the season, Richter-scale games were coming more frequently for 19-year-old Kevin Durant. The one-and-done kid out of Texas went for 37 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals that night, furthering an instant love affair with a city caught in a messy divorce that soon would separate it from its team and budding superstar.

Brian Davis, the Sonics’ studio host and sideline reporter who was facing an uncertain future of his own, stepped up to Durant to tell the soon-to-be-named Rookie of the Year how much he’d come to admire him.

“Hey, really enjoyed working with you,” said Davis, who as a young radio reporter in Chicago had chronicled Michael Jordan‘s career. “I’ve got an observation I want to share with you because we may never see each other again: You remind me a lot of Michael. Not your game; you remind me of Michael in the way that you carry yourself.”

And then Davis told him this: “Here’s the deal: You will be tested, you will be tested. But, if you stay true to your core, your personality, your decency to people, you’ll not only have a great career, you’ll have a great life.”

Durant, all elbows and knees, rose from his chair, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Oh man,” he told Davis, “I’ve got to give you a hug.”

On Tuesday there will be hugs all around as Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar who lifts up his teammates and has graciously embraced a franchise and its new community, is presented the league’s highest individual honor as the winner of the Kia Most Valuable Player award (4:30 p.m., NBA TV and NBA.com).

An MVP season

When the Sonics left for Oklahoma City after Durant’s rookie season, Davis was offered the television play-by-play job. Outside of coach Scott Brooks, an assistant during that last season in Seattle, general manager Sam Presti (hired prior to the 2007 NBA Draft) and a handful of other staff members, Davis is among a small group who has watched every minute of Durant’s 542 regular-season games and 62 more in the playoffs.

What that group has seen is astounding. Throughout his already stellar career, Durant has piled up one feat after another and this year has put up numbers of statistical superiority that have not been seen since Jordan. The piece de resistance came on April 6 when Durant passed Jordan’s streak with a 41st game of 25 points or more, now the longest such streak since Oscar Robertson did it 50 years ago.

NOT SINCE MJ

First to average at least 30.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting at least 50 percent, since Jordan in 1991-92

First to average at 32.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 5.0 apg, since Jordan in 1988-89

First to average 33.0 ppg in three successive months (January, February, March). since Jordan in 1989-90

First to have 51 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists (vs. Toronto) in a game, since Jordan in 1992

First to score at least 25 points in at least 40 consecutive games (41), since Jordan in 1986-87

OTHER FEATS

First to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in three consecutive games, since Larry Bird in 1987-88

Fourteen 40-point games this season, more than double the next player (Kevin Love, 6; Carmelo Anthony 5; Stephen Curry 3, LeBron James 3, Kyrie Irving 3)

First with multiple 50-point games (2) in the same season, since LeBron James (3) and Dwyane Wade (3) in 2008-09

Among players with at least four scoring titles (Durant, Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin, Jordan), Durant was the youngest at the time of his fourth (25 years, 199 days as of the April 16, the last day of the regular season)

Led all players this season in clutch points (five-point difference or less in final five minutes)

Durant’s MVP season, though, has been clouded by the fog of a first-round playoff fight. Just last week as Durant struggled against a suffocating Memphis defense, as the Thunder bogged down under the pressure of potential early elimination, Oklahomans woke up on the morning of a do-or-die Game 6 to a bold newspaper headline that offered the soon-to-be MVP a harsh, new nickname: “Mr. Unreliable.”

Almost nothing could be further from the truth. At 25 years old, Durant averaged a career and league-best 32.0 points a game, winning his fourth scoring title in five seasons. He averaged a career-high 5.5 assists and 7.4 rebounds a game. He shot better than 50 percent for a second consecutive season and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.

He carried the Thunder to 59 wins and the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed despite co-star Russell Westbrook missing nearly half the season. And he has the Thunder challenging for a third Western Conference finals appearance in four seasons and a second NBA finals berth in three seasons.

Yet in Memphis recently, the scene was grim. Encircled by reporters after the team’s shootaround on the morning of the now infamous headline, Durant was asked what he thought about the hometown paper dubbing him “Mr. Unreliable.”

You will be tested, you will be tested.

Calmly, Durant answered the question. He hadn’t seen the headline. He wasn’t worried about it.

“Everybody put their two cents on who I am as a player,” Durant said before the series began. “But I know the work I put in and you can easily lose confidence listening to everybody else. So I just try to focus on our team, what we have here and the work I put in individually, that it’s going to pay off.

“So it might not happen overnight, or in a few days or a few weeks, but just knowing that you put in that work, that’s what makes me confident as a player.”

Durant trampled the Grizzlies in Game 6 to even the series. In Game 7, he scored an ultra-efficient 33 points and grabbed eight rebounds as OKC advanced behind as reliable a pair of performances as any during Durant’s magnificent campaign.

“I always feel comfortable because I feel comfortable with myself, I feel comfortable with my game,” Durant said. “I’m not the strongest guy, I’m not the quickest or fastest, but I just feel comfortable with myself and I know what I can do out there on the floor.”

A unique talent

If so-called “voter fatigue” was thought to be the only way James could lose this season’s MVP award, Durant’s highlight-reel, Jordan-esque achievements had voters, and competitors, taking stock long before the All-Star break.

“I think he took the challenge when Westbrook went out this season and took it upon his shoulders to carry that team, to take it to another level,” said Dallas Mavericks forward and veteran Durant defender Shawn Marion. “At 7-foot, as athletic as he is, to do some of the things he’s doing on the floor, it’s not normal.”

When Durant arrived in Seattle in the summer of 2007, a no-brainer pick once Portland selected Greg Oden No. 1, it was impossible not to gasp at Durant’s unusually long and spindly body and his broad smile.

At Texas, Durant was listed as 6-foot, 9-inches, and maybe he was then. He was also listed as 215 pounds, and maybe he was. At the NBA’s pre-Draft camp, media reports leaked that Durant couldn’t bench press 185 pounds. The league snickered.

“I remember him being very wiry and thinking, ‘Where’s this guy going to play at 6-foot-9, 6-10?” said Grant Long, a 6-foot-8 power forward in the league for 15 seasons, and the Thunder’s television analyst since the move to Oklahoma City. “I knew right away that he wasn’t a post-up player. Then it was a matter of how is he going to impose his will on a defender, being 6-foot-9, because obviously there’s not a lot of 6-foot-10 guys playing on the perimeter.”

The Thunder still list Durant at 6-foot-9, which draws cackles from players around the league who’ve had to guard the tallest 6-foot-9 small forward in league history.

Arguably 7-feet, and these days listed at a sturdier 240 pounds (and maybe he is), Durant and the 6-foot-5 Jordan share no physical attributes. But they are bound by a common denominator: Scoring at will. Jordan, No. 3 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, amassed more than 32,000 points in 15 seasons. Durant is closing in on 15,000 through seven seasons.

Long played his first 11 seasons in the Eastern Conference, competing against both of Jordan’s three-peat Bulls teams in the 1990s.

“I think we’re watching somebody that’s prolific in two ways,” Long said of Durant. “The fact that it comes very easily to him; if you can say something is natural, he’s a natural scorer, coupled with the fact that he is very efficient. The fact that he knows he’ll be on the floor, he doesn’t stress about getting shots. He knows the shots are going to come.”

The growth of KD

Durant’s ascension from rail-thin jump-shooter to the league’s most efficient all-around scorer is built on a resolute commitment.

“Consistency,” Brooks said. “That is his key to success. He brought a work ethic that never wavers. He’s always in pursuit of being a consistent player, and that every day, doing-the-same-thing mentality has paid off.

“And he’s still doing it.”

Davis formulated a timeline of Durant’s progression:

Kevin Durant (Richard Rowe/NBAE)

2007-08:Realization. On Nov. 16, 2007, in his 10th NBA game, Durant drilled a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in double overtime to beat Atlanta. “Maybe for him,” Davis said, “that was the moment he realized, ‘Holy smokes, I can do stuff like this in this league.’”

2008-09:Strength. Adding bulk to his frame was top priority as became the team’s primary end-of-game scoring option. “There were times though when he wasn’t up for the task, he hadn’t figured it out yet,” Davis said. “He wasn’t strong enough to take the bump if somebody was running at him and he wasn’t skilled enough to figure out how to defeat the move the guy was making on him in those crunch-time situations.”

2009-10:Finisher. “He went from being a skilled jumpshooter who, if he had the alley, could finish beautifully and with authority at the rim,” Davis said. “Over time he’s learned how to finish through contact. Over time, and I’m talking about attacking the rim, he’s learned how to finish off the jump through contact.”

2010-11:Leader. “Kevin has learned how to lead, and I think for him, it wasn’t that he was an unwilling leader, but I do think that for a young man, who especially is in his teens when he comes into the league, you have to develop the courage to lead,” Davis said. “And your teammates have to give you permission to lead. I actually think, just reading between the lines, that maybe a big moment for him was when Kendrick Perkins came to this ballclub. Kendrick is one of two guys — along with Thabo Sefolosha, who preached defense to his younger teammates — that has really helped to change the culture of the team. I think Perkins, having been around [Kevin] Garnett, [Paul] Pierce, my guess is that Perk encouraged Kevin, saying, ‘Look, you are the man on this team, so be the leader, too.’ It gave him permission to do it.”

2011-present: Whole. Durant’s ability to see the floor in the half court, a la James dramatically approved. He averaged 2.7 assists per game in 2010-11. The next three seasons saw increases to 3.5, 4.6 and now 5.5. His assist totals correlate directly to another improvement that some players never make, or even seek to make.

“The first couple years, the team would make a stop and he’d be running down the floor with his hand up, ‘Throw me the ball,’ and he’d camp out on the wing with his hand up in the air,” Davis said. “He doesn’t do that anymore. Now, if there’s a transition opportunity and the ball’s not coming his way, he’ll start doing the work he’s got to off the ball, without the ball, to make himself available. Or, if the play’s not coming his way, he’ll step up and set a screen.”

Said Grant: “Those things you don’t see from everybody because everybody is not willing to work off the ball to get one shot, but he is. He can come down and stand all he wants to and ask for the ball and probably score, but he’s not going to win that way. In order to win, you’ve got to move because you’re going to need your teammates to score as well.

“That’s when you hear people say, ‘Well how does he elevate the play of his teammates? Well, that’s how he decided to elevate the play of his teammates.”

No stopping him now

It’s foolish to think Durant’s first MVP will be his last. He and James, 29, are poised to continue one of the great annual MVP races since Larry Bird and Magic Johnson dueled in the 80s.

“His efficiency level, his understanding of the game and all the experiences he has, he’s going to keep improving,” Brooks said. “Physically, you don’t stop. He’s only 25. He still has many years before he becomes in his prime physically. And mentally, I mean, I’ve been around a lot of players that from a basketball IQ standpoint, they keep improving until the day they stop playing.”

Davis harbors no doubt that this wholly unique player he watches every day at practice, shooting at odd hours and chasing down Jordan’s feats in front of packed houses, is only just beginning.

“That 41-game streak of 25 points-plus? It’s the third-best in the history of the game,” Davis said. “That’s no fluke, and that’s not a mirage. He has grown into this, and you know what I kept thinking this season?: It’s his time, it’s his time to be that guy. It’s his time not only to believe in himself as that guy, but it’s time for everybody else to see it.”

“Not for nothing,” Davis added, “Michael Jordan won his first championship in his seventh season. This is year No. 7.”

55 Comments

A fantastic player and rightfully deserved this season he was undoubtedly the MVP! Only hope that the Thunder and Heat meet in the finals for a KD and LeBron showdown.. would be one for the history books!!

KD won MVP coz Westbrook did not play in a lot of games this year… I hope they trade Westbrook to other teams for a team point guard and not a scoring point guard. When Westbrook came back from injury, Thunder went back to playing bad games…

I’m not. No way. I think Lebron is still agruably the best all around NBA player. Granted, Miami finished the season rough, but in the EASY Eastern Conference, they’ve had it easy thus far in the playoffs. Lucky bastards. :-)

I thought MVP stood for Most Valuable Player. They’re plenty of other players that are actually valuable and contributing to the team rather than just scoring lots of points against teams who don’t have a chance. Wrong choice NBA.

MVP means Most Valuable Player and it is judged on the standpoint of each time with regards to their players. This means that the MVP would be the one who, without him, would have his team scratching the alley. MVP is judged among several factors and that includes each player’s PIE or Player Impact Estimate. It measures the overall impact of a player to his team. PIE eliminates league- , season- or style-of-play bias, enabling comparison of a player (or team) across different eras. The PIE formula also includes the team’s rate of success — which some see as the ultimate measure of a player’s worth. (http://www.nba.com/mvp-ladder/) And to think that KD still managed to cruise the OKC without Russell Westbrook and other key players on the course of the season is remarkable. It is his consistency that won him the award. Lebron’s game comes and goes. Some nights he throws monster games and some nights he just lies low. You didn’t see that performance throughout the season with Durant. And the moment he just wanted to stop the streak, sitting out the 4th quarter with a bucket short of a 25 point 42 game streak saying he doesn’t want the attention and just wishes it to end so that the team can focus on being a team. That is greatness embodied right there man. Unlike LeBron who desperately begs for the approval of everyone, including MJ’s, KD never wanted to attract attention with his demeanor. He attracts attention with his game man. Kudos KD!

Good job KD for winning MVP.
Unfortunately that is all he and OKC will be winning this year.
Basketball is a TEAM game.
Nobody remembers how many MVP’s or scoring titles you win. Only thing that matters is RINGS.
I doubt he will ever get one.
Hey – not everyone can win a championship. I see him having more of a Karl Malone type career.
Lots of points scored, lots of playoff battles, maybe a Finals appearance or two…but never win a RING.

OKC needs to get rid of Westbrook and have a point guard that can compliment KD. Then, maybe he’ll have a chance.
As long as Westbrook is around…they’ll always be exiting the playoffs.

this comment is just foolish he made it to the finals with westbrook and harden OKC needs another scorer and a better bench just think about that because so many teams had a great bench and won the finals they lost to the Heat because of the heats bench and their 3 point shooting OKC needs and I repeat NEEDS a 3rd Scorer and a better BENCH PLEASE PLEASE WATCH ESPN First Take because Stephen A Smith says that so many times its RIGHT THEIR IN FRONT OF YOU OPEN YOUR EYES PLEASE!!!

OKC is overrated.
Until they get a two guard coming off the bench (i.e. Manu Ginobili) or a PF off bench (i.e. Taj Gibson) – OKC won’t win a Ring. You are correct about needing bench help.
But current team – Westbrook is the problem.
Too much hero ball.
So enjoy KD…and enjoy being bounced out of playoffs again.

I WOULD AGREE THOUGH, WESTBROOK WOULD HAVE TO MOVE FROM THE PG FOR THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL. I SAY START REGGIE JACKSON AND MOVE WESTBROOK TO THE 2. THEY PLAY LIKE THAT ALOT ANYWAY. AND YES THEY NEED A 3RD SCORER, IBAKA DIDNT HAVE THE BREAKOUT SEASON THEY THOUGHT HE WOOULD

I think they need rondo and then they’ll be a perfect team, when rondo played with pierce and garnett they would have awesome games but when he was out they were a mess, i see rondo complimenting kd perfectly

To all the haters of KD take about 10 mins out of your time and look at his stats from the last 2 seasons including this season so far and maybe you’ll see how great of a player he is also he is arguably the most humble NBA Superstar right now.
KD you deserved this celebrate today but then tomorrow its another work day to get ready for game 2 we got to bounce back OKC NATION!!!!!!!1

I agree with you he isn’t exactly 7 foot long he’s around 6’10.
And about his arms, he has a large 7’4 foot wing span if i remember correctly, a very good advantage when it come to rebounds, steals etc.

Okay, so he can shoot well. Other then that, has no one honestly not noticed what a whiny little baby he is?!?!?! We used to think he was such a nice guy, did great things for his city, etc. etc. but every time he plays against the Blazers, it’s nothing but a whine fest and he talks smack to the team, the coach and the fans. If he gets called for a foul its “OMG how dare you call a foul on ME?!, I never do anything wrong” followed by some feet stomping. Now, Lamarcus Aldridge on the other hand, plays with 10x more heart then Durant, Lebron, anyone in the NBA. But time and time again, his talent, and the talent of the whole Blazers team, is overlooked. But you know what, bring it. We play better in the face of diversity anyway, and I guarantee you this was just more fuel to our fire.

LOLOLOL really really seems like your the only one whining like a baby don’t be angry that you riding Aldridge isn’t enough for him to be a real contender in the MVP race and I will put anything on it that the spurs are going to destroy the blazers so calm down your team isn’t going anywhere… The Thunder are going to beat the Clippers just watch Paul is NOT going to do what he did in game 1 again. People like you just make me laugh uncontrollably

LOL your joking right because if I remember right KD is the guy who is double teamed almost always and beyond that in the nba your not expected to win every game its people like you that wanna make me smash my head into a wall. KD is the future and over rated how about the 41 game streak of 25 or more or how about the 30 ppg wit 5 rebound and 5 apg while shooting higher then 50% KD is going to become a Legend and your thick head cant see that KD has always been doubted and looked at as 2nd throughout his life this is something he deserves and really he missed 3s ohhhh so what who cares all I remember are all those clutch shots and big games he has stepped up in how about those 5 threes he made in game 7 against the Grizzles please please just stop your argument and statement is childish

I am 64 yrs young.I grew up watching Great players such as Bill Russell was my favorite player. Then Bird came with Magic Johnson on we go with MJ,along came Duncan. I live in Okc.as you might have noticed all of these Legends were far away but still my favorite players. Then I saw KD in my own home town I told my son 2 yrs. ago “we are witnessing another Legend right in our own Town”and here he is KD MVP.

Yes, Yes, Yes! Congrat KD! You’re the very best! Well deserved; you are my hero and you inspire me and millions of fans
around not just the country but around the world. Way to go KDDDDDDDDDDDDD, Wes, New York.

Thanks for a great article and congratulations to Durant for a well-deserved MVP. Is there a possibility that the thunder might trade Westbrook for Rondo? It seems to me to be that Rondo`s selflessnes would fit in much nicer with Durant, in looking forward to becoming champs.

He really deserves it. He could have won another MVP already (and deserved it too) and this one was a no contest … The really big “thing” this year is that R-Westbrook really became his lieutenant in regular season as his role is (even if he shows during playoffs misunderstanding in his role).

James MVP titles in regular season at Miami was only possible when Wade became and understood his lieutenant role (even though i’m a big D-Wade fan since his rookie season)

Love the title on the front page: “Braking news”…like it’s something surprising, but no it’s not, it was written in stone even before the regular season ended that’s how awesome the kid is…not just this season, all seasons.

Congratulations, Durant! I’m happy for you and glad you finally won MVP. You’ve been the MVP to me for a few years now. I like how you are a good role model on and off the court. Please help make sure the Thunder get out of round 2 this year!

Congratuations KD, You deserve to be the most valuable player in the NBA. Your stats and your play prove it . Keep moving forward. The road to success is humilty through your actions. The court is an emotional ride and one can get caught up every once in a while, so keep striving for excellence. That will make you a champion, even with or without a ring from the NBA.

Congrats KD!!!! Im only sixteen and even though i wasn’t alive to witness most of the greats, I see all of those qualities in you. You are by far my most favorite player. NOw let’s go get this Championship!!!!!! #Thun&1